Checking newborn nappy at night

[AleaEim]

I have a one month old who I’ve been changing every 2-3 hours, she can poo every 30 minutes so I often need to change more frequently. She just slept her longest stretch of 4.5 hours whereas she normally wakes naturally after 2 hours at night. The problem is, her nappy was very full (dirty/ wet) and I feel guilty as I’ve no idea how long she was in it for. Am I supposed to set my alarm frequently during the night to change her nappy now she’s sleeping more? What do others do? I can never smell her poo (she’s bf) so I wouldn’t know unless I changed her fully,

No I never set an alarm to check their nappies - eek out every minute of sleep that you can! Even when they're much bigger you'll sometimes arrive in to the delightful aroma of a dirty nappy first thing, just one of those things. If she's uncomfortable she wouldn't sleep.

Noo absolutely not. I only change a wet nappy once overnight once I've gone to bed, just to ensure it doesnt leak. Well, I don't, DH does! It only gets changed more if it's soiled. I can almost always smell that though, it's extremely rare a soiled nappy has been noticed later but I do have a very very sensitive sense of smell, DH often would miss them otherwise.

If you're concerned, you can peep in the nappy at each wake to see ? Just peep up the leg cuff. If it's dirty then obviously change it right away, if it's just wet you can leave it longer.

I'm a bit ahead of you at 15 weeks. And second baby. No, don't schedule nappy check times. Let baby (and you!) sleep. It's tricky getting to grips with what to expect from nappies at this stage and I've had a fair few leakers once LO started sleeping in longer stretches but as long as you're changing them regularly when you can (eg right before a feed if they're likely to fall back asleep while feeding) they'll be ok. Use a good barrier cream and make sure you wipe them down well at every change to avoid nappy rash overnight if they are sleeping longer.

I've noticed that DD has greater bladder capacity now and will wake up from a longer stretch of sleep with an almost dry nappy, and then have an almighty wee/poo shortly after. So bear in mind your baby may not have been wet for all that long, and that as they get bigger they will be going longer between wees and poos.

Also! I think we had leaks partly because it was time to move up a size in nappies. So be aware of that as a consideration.

The only way I change a nappy in the night is if our little ones wake because there uncomfortable or they do have a stink and we have 3 and no way am I getting them into a routine of waking them to change them when they are happy sleeping 😂 same for feeding if they wake for milk then they get it and if not I get a extra zzzzzs my older kids survived and I'm sure our little triplets will aswell

Agree with PP don't worry, just change nappy when baby wakes (if needed) like someone said once they are a bit older they only really wee overnight so you can just try for one change, and then you can not need to change at all. Agree size up in nappy at night for better capacity

If you’re worried about leaks just put a pull up over the nappy. 18 week old baby here and I agree I don’t go in and check constantly or change overnight if not needed. He dropped his nightfeed at 10 weeks though so it doesn’t tend to leak

If you're worried about her possibly sitting in poo then put a barrier cream like sudocrem on before to prevent soreness.

She is swaddled at night so I’d probably wake her by unwrapping her. Tbh there’s always a poo in her nappy, there’s never been a time we changed it and it was just wet.

You could maybe a thin layer of nappy rash cream before bed, I rate the Weleda one, just to protect her skin. But if her skin is fine and she’s sleeping soundly then don’t worry about it. I think all babies have done this on occasion- I’ve found a dirty rare on occasion after a 12 hour sleep and they were fine. They grow out of it, once their digestive system matures and especially once weaning starts. I definitely wouldn’t be setting alarms, you need to sleep!!

I can never smell the poo for some reason, either can dh.

Also, would anyone here know if it will affect my supply if I’m not feeding her more regularly at night? I only fed her last night at 10pm, 3am and then at waking up at 7am. This is the first night where it hasn’t been every two hours as that’s when she would normally wake to feed.

It's still early days and babies small tummies will eat then digest then poo. The bigger she gets, the bigger the feeds and the longer she will go without eating. No need to wake her. Just use a barrier cream like Sudo at night and change her when she wakes. It's probably happening quite quickly after a feed so try and listen out, and change the nappy before you put her back down.

Also on swaddling- IDK what you’re currently using but if you want a recommendation the tommee tippee gro snuggles are really good because the bottom is like a regular sleeping bag so you can unzip it and just get legs out. Great for doing stealthy night nappy changes and avoiding them getting cold and waking up fully! Also it’s transitional so you can swaddle the arms or undo the poppers and it becomes a regular sleeping bag, so it’s ready for when they start rolling. Would really recommend it!

I would just change her when I feed her. Otherwise I would leave her and put Sudocream on overnight and give a really good wash with a flannel/dunk bum in the sink in the morning.

Thanks for the advice, last night could have been a complete fluke and she may not sleep like this again, fingers crossed she will though.

Mine has sleeps like this and it hadn't affected my supply. I wake up engorged sometimes if she's gone for longer than usual but it doesn't seem to reduce how much I produce. This has been the case for first and second baby.

NEVER wake a sleeping baby! It's clearly not uncomfortable enough to wake her up. She's FINE!

Sorry to come back to this thread I just feel a bit clueless right now. Our baby just slept another long stretch… of 7 hours! I woke up once naturally and checked on her, but that was it, should I be setting an alarm to check her more frequently? She sleeps in a next to me type of crib but I’m such a deep sleeper I only wake if she cries. They don’t tell you this in antenatal classes.

Once they’re back over birth weight then no you don’t need to wake to feed (unless you want to for your own comfort if you’re engorged). Enjoy the sleep! Baby sleep isn’t linear so she may sleep longer chunks for a bit then hit a regression and it change again.

My 12 month old is currently feeding during the night like a newborn again!

No need to check OP, just what PP said about the birth weight, as long as no concerns raised by HV then let her sleep and hopefully you too.
Did someone answer your question about milk supply if you're not feeding overnight? Usually it's suggested that one middle of the night feed (or pump/hakka if baby sleeping and your boobs are exploding) is ideal because that's when your prolactin is at its highest and that's the hormone that tells your body to keep producing milk (sorry I don't know the exact science)
As time goes on you will get to know your milk supply so this may not be necessary

Just read you are a deep sleeper - amazing! Sleep mama! I'm the same and my partner usually hears the cries before me. You'll have good weeks and bad weeks of sleep (or hopefully just good weeks for you x) so just enjoy it for now and try not to worry if you have a tricky night

If baby is healthy no alarms. If baby is hungry or uncomfortable from nappy they will cry. Use a barrier cream to prevent diaper rash.
enjoy those long sleeps! I only got a short stretch of baby sleeping well. Now I am lucky if I get an occasional night of her sleeping a 4 hour stretch!
if she is exclusively breastfed dirty nappy likely won’t smell.
As for your supply I’ve seen a lot of people recommend setting an alarm for middle of the night pump. I personally never did it. If baby sleeps I am sleeping!

I have a 4 week 3 Day old - she slept for 7 hours last night. Is that okay? She had regained her birthweight and a little bit more by 3 weeks.
Midwives tell me to feed her every 3 hours through the night but my mum always says never wake a sleeping baby……

I think if they’ve regained their birthweight, you can let them sleep.